Special Conversion Thread: Lycanthropes and their ilk

[Cleon]

That looks good. Do you care to add the flavor text?

Use the dire lycanthrope template? We could do that, but we're starting to get into overkill on the weresloths.

Updated.

I added this for the flavour:

A burly creature, half humanoid and half beast, covered in a pelt of foot-long hair. Its head is somewhat sheep-like, with dull eyes and small blunt teeth. The creature's arms are far more formidable, powerfully muscled and ending in long, curved claws.

Ground weresloths in humanoid form tend to have pot-bellies and robust arms. Their hair is usually long, unkempt hair and is often tangled with twigs, leaves and other debris. Ground weresloths typically live as forest aborigines, dressing themselves in very basic garments such as breechcloths or skirts, usually woven from the fibers of local plants.

 

[Cleon]

Use the dire lycanthrope template? We could do that, but we're starting to get into overkill on the weresloths.

Haven't you learned by now there's no such thing as overkill?

To use the dire lycanthrope template we'd have to have a dire sloth (or, rather, one with a good Will save). There doesn't seem to be one available. The Monster Manual II Forest Sloth and Fiend Folio Megatherium both have poor Will saves.

Still, even without the Dire Lycanthrope template I fancy doing it with a Hill Giant as the base creature.

Which sloth do you fancy lycanthopising it with? The 8 HD Large Mylodon, 13 HD Huge Megatherium, or 14 HD Large Forest Sloth?

Personally, I'd go for the Mylodon.

 

[freyar]

Mylodon is fine if Shade likes it too. And the above flavor text looks good.

 

[Cleon]

Mylodon is fine if Shade likes it too. And the above flavor text looks good.

Okay, I'll wait for his feedback before starting the Hill Giant Weremylodon.

 

[Shade]

Okay, I'll wait for his feedback before starting the Hill Giant Weremylodon.

It is overkill, but I need time to catch up, so I say "go for it".

 

[Cleon]

It is overkill, but I need time to catch up, so I say "go for it".

Going for it...

 

[Cleon]

Giant Weresloth Working Draft

Giant Weresloth

Giant Weresloth, Hill Giant Form
Large Giant (Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 plus 8d8+72 (210 hp)
Initiative: -1
Speed: 30 ft. in hide armor (6 squares); base speed 40 ft.
Armor Class: 22 (-1 size, -1 Dex, +11 natural, +3 hide armor), touch 8, flat-footed 22
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+26
Attack: Greatclub +22 melee (2d8+10) or slam +21 melee (1d4+7) or rock +14 ranged (2d6+7)
Full Attack: Greatclub +22/+17/+12 melee (2d8+10) or 2 slams +21 melee (1d4+7) or rock +14 ranged (2d6+7)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Rock throwing
Special Qualities: Alternate form, darkvision 60 ft., sloth empathy, low-light vision, rock catching, scent
Saves: Fort +20, Ref +9, Will +9
Abilities: Str 25, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills: Climb +9*, Jump +7*, Listen +9, Spot +12
* includes -3 armor penalty from hide armor
Feats: Alertness (B), Great Fortitude, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Iron Will (B), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw), Weapon Focus (greatclub)
Environment: Temperate hills
Organization: Solitary, pair, family (3-4), or troupe (family plus 2-4 ground sloths)
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +7

Giant Weresloth, Mylodon Form
Large Giant (Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 plus 8d8+72 (210 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (-1 size, +12 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+30
Attack: Claw +26 melee (1d6+11)
Full Attack: 2 claws +26 melee (1d4+11) and bite +20 melee (1d8+5)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Curse of lycanthropy, improved grab, pin down, trample 1d10+16
Special Qualities: Alternate form, damage reduction 10/silver, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent, sloth empathy
Saves: Fort +25, Ref +10, Will +9
Abilities: Str 33, Dex 10, Con 29, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills: Climb +16, Jump +14, Listen +9, Spot +12
Feats: Alertness (B), Great Fortitude, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Iron Will (B), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw), Weapon Focus (greatclub)
Environment: Temperate hills
Organization: Solitary, pair, family (3-4), or troupe (family plus 2-4 ground sloths)
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +7

Giant Weresloth, Hybrid Form
Large Giant (Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 12d8+48 plus 8d8+72 (210 hp)
Initiative: +0
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 21 (-1 size, +12 natural), touch 9, flat-footed 21
Base Attack/Grapple: +15/+30
Attack: Greatclub +26 melee (2d8+16) or claw +26 melee (1d6+11) or rock + 20 ranged (2d6+11)
Full Attack: Greatclub +26/+21/+16 melee (2d8+10); or 2 claws +26 melee (1d6+11) and bite +20 melee (1d8+5); or rock + 20 ranged (2d6+11)
Space/Reach: 10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks: Curse of lycanthropy, rock throwing
Special Qualities: Alternate form, damage reduction 10/silver, darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, rock catching, scent, sloth empathy
Saves: Fort +20, Ref +10, Will +9
Abilities: Str 33, Dex 10, Con 29, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 7
Skills: Climb +16, Jump +14, Listen +9, Spot +12
Feats: Alertness (B), Great Fortitude, Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Iron Will (B), Power Attack, Weapon Focus (claw), Weapon Focus (greatclub)
Environment: Temperate hills
Organization: Solitary, pair, family (3-4), or troupe (family plus 2-4 ground sloths)
Challenge Rating: 11
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always neutral
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +7

A giant beastman at least twice as tall as a human. A thick pelt of hair almost buries its hulking body and huge forearms. The creature has a long, sheep-like head, with dull eyes peering out through its hair. Its jaws are unimpressive, with small and blunt teeth, but its hands are armed with enormous, curved claws.

In giant form, these weresloths usually look like ordinary hill giants with exceptionally long hair, tangled with branches, filth and other detritus. They prefer to live in wooded hills, using caves for shelter. Their culture is primitive even for a hill giant. Giant weresloths normally dress in skins and crudely woven kilts or ponchos.

COMBAT

Giant weresloths are not typically aggressive, but they are violent when roused. Unimaginative combatants, they prefer to rush into melee, usually remembering to change into animal or hybrid for the fight. In giant form, they fight with weapons and thrown rocks, while their strong instinct in sloth form is to pin down and trample their opponent.

Alternate Form (Su): A weresloth can assume the form of a ground sloth or a sloth-humanoid hybrid.

Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid or giant hit by a weresloth’s bite attack in animal or hybrid form must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or contract lycanthropy.

Improved Grab (Ex): If a giant weresloth in animal form hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with a claw attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it gets a hold, it can pin down the opponent on its next successful grapple check.

Pin Down (Ex): A giant weresloth in animal form can make a grapple check against an already grappled opponent in an attempt to pin it down. If successful, the opponent is pinned down beneath the weresloth's claw. Pinned opponents take trample damage each round they are pinned, including the round in which the pin is established.

Sloth Empathy (Ex): Communicate with tree sloth, ground sloth and dire sloth, and +4 racial bonus on Charisma-based checks against tree sloth, ground sloth and dire sloth.

Trample (Ex): Reflex half DC 31. The save DC is Strength-based.

 

[freyar]

Tactics might just as well be about the same as the ground weresloth above.

 

[Cleon]

Tactics might just as well be about the same as the ground weresloth above.

Yes, just change "humanoid" to "giant". Might as well mention rock-throwing.

e.g.:

Giant weresloths are not typically aggressive, but they are violent when roused. Unimaginative combatants, they prefer to rush into melee, usually remembering to change into animal or hybrid for the fight. In giant form, they fight with weapons and thrown rocks, while their strong instinct in sloth form is to pin down and trample their opponent.

 

[Shade]

That works for me.